Sunday Breakfast Menu, Feb. 3

Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

Gun control, the military and immigration take center stage on the Sunday shows this week.

Sharing their perspectives on gun control on “Fox News Sunday” as they did during a Senate hearing Wednesday, Wayne LaPierre, the National Rifle Association’s executive vice president, and retired astronaut Mark E. Kelly, the husband of former Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot along with several others during a campaign event.

Leon E. Panetta, the defense secretary who is leaving the administration, and Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will be on NBC’s “Meet the Pres” and CNN’s “State of the Union” to talk about Chuck Hagel’s confirmation hearings to succeed Mr. Panetta, the draw down in Afghanistan and other challenges ahead for the Pentagon.

In nonpolitical news, it’s Super Bowl Sunday. Hines Ward, a former football player and Super Bowl XL MVP, will talk about the dangers of football on CNN, and George Allen, the former Virginia senator, son of the legendary N.F.L. coach and author of “What Washington Can Learn from the World of Sports,” weighs in on football and politics.

Plus, CNN will also have a domestic policy discussion that includes Melody C.  Barnes, former domestic policy adviser to President Obama, and Elaine Chao, former labor secretary, focusing on the economy and immigration.

Speaking of immigration, President Obama gr! anted interviews to two Spanish-language networks on immigration reform, and their public affairs programs, Telemundo’s “Enfoque” and Univision’s “Al Punto,” will air their conversations with the president. Univision will also feature Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, chairman of the Senate subcommittee on immigration, refugees and border security.

Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Senate majority leader, will join ABC’s “This Week” to talk about the upcoming fights over immigration reform, gun control and the budget. Also, Michelle Rhee, former chancellor of the Washington, D.C., public schools and author of the new book “Radical: Fighting to Put Students First,” will discuss the future of education.

Roger Goodell, commissioner of the National Football League, is scheduled to weigh in on the challenges facing the sport on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

Bloomberg’s “Political Capital” eatures Dan Pfeiffer, White House senior adviser, and Greg Cosell, senior producer at N.F.L. Films, this week.

Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, joins C-Span’s “Newsmakers” to talk about Wednesday’s hearing on gun violence, immigration reform and Senator Tom Harkin’s announcement that he will not seek re-election.

And TV One’s “Washington Watch” will have Representative Maxine Waters, Democrat of California, discussing gun control.

Sunday Breakfast Menu, Feb. 3

Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

Gun control, the military and immigration take center stage on the Sunday shows this week.

Sharing their perspectives on gun control on “Fox News Sunday” as they did during a Senate hearing Wednesday, Wayne LaPierre, the National Rifle Association’s executive vice president, and retired astronaut Mark E. Kelly, the husband of former Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot along with several others during a campaign event.

Leon E. Panetta, the defense secretary who is leaving the administration, and Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will be on NBC’s “Meet the Pres” and CNN’s “State of the Union” to talk about Chuck Hagel’s confirmation hearings to succeed Mr. Panetta, the draw down in Afghanistan and other challenges ahead for the Pentagon.

In nonpolitical news, it’s Super Bowl Sunday. Hines Ward, a former football player and Super Bowl XL MVP, will talk about the dangers of football on CNN, and George Allen, the former Virginia senator, son of the legendary N.F.L. coach and author of “What Washington Can Learn from the World of Sports,” weighs in on football and politics.

Plus, CNN will also have a domestic policy discussion that includes Melody C.  Barnes, former domestic policy adviser to President Obama, and Elaine Chao, former labor secretary, focusing on the economy and immigration.

Speaking of immigration, President Obama gr! anted interviews to two Spanish-language networks on immigration reform, and their public affairs programs, Telemundo’s “Enfoque” and Univision’s “Al Punto,” will air their conversations with the president. Univision will also feature Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, chairman of the Senate subcommittee on immigration, refugees and border security.

Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Senate majority leader, will join ABC’s “This Week” to talk about the upcoming fights over immigration reform, gun control and the budget. Also, Michelle Rhee, former chancellor of the Washington, D.C., public schools and author of the new book “Radical: Fighting to Put Students First,” will discuss the future of education.

Roger Goodell, commissioner of the National Football League, is scheduled to weigh in on the challenges facing the sport on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

Bloomberg’s “Political Capital” eatures Dan Pfeiffer, White House senior adviser, and Greg Cosell, senior producer at N.F.L. Films, this week.

Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, joins C-Span’s “Newsmakers” to talk about Wednesday’s hearing on gun violence, immigration reform and Senator Tom Harkin’s announcement that he will not seek re-election.

And TV One’s “Washington Watch” will have Representative Maxine Waters, Democrat of California, discussing gun control.

Gun Control Group Buys Ad Time for Super Bowl

One of the nation’s leading gun control groups has bought television time during Sunday’s Super Bowl in an effort to push Congress to pass universal background checks on all firearm purchases.

The 30-second spot by Mayors for Illegal Guns will run on CBS stations in the Washington D.C. market during the third-quarter break coming out of halftime, officials at the group said Saturday. The officials declined to say exactly how much they spent on the advertising, but said it was in the “six figures.”

In the ad, images of children are shown as the song “America, the Beautiful” plays. One child notes that the National Rifle Association once supported broader background checks.

As the music keeps playing, the ad shows a clip of Wayne LaPierre, the executive director of the N.R.A., saying in 1999 that the organization could support background checks.

“We think itâ™s reasonable to provide mandatory, instant criminal background checks for every sale at every gun show,” Mr. LaPierre says in the ad. “No loopholes anywhere, for anyone.”

The gun rights organization has since changed its position over the years. At a Congressional hearing this week, Mr. LaPierre said the N.R.A. did not support expanding the criminal background check system to private sales that take place at gun shows and elsewhere. He said the current system was ineffective.

In the Super Bowl ad by the mayors group, another child says: “America can do this. For us. Please.” And it concludes with a screen that says: “Background checks for all gun purchases. It’s time.”

President Obama has joined with gun control organizations to push for stiffer firearms laws in the wake of the massacre that killed 20 children at an elementary school in Newtown, Ct. One key measure would expand the background check system to cover sales of gun between private citizens.

The Early Word: Push and Tug

In Today’s Times

• President Obama proposed a compromise on contraceptive coverage on Friday that would allow women employed by religious organizations that do not want to provide birth control coverage to obtain it separately from their insurers. But Robert Pear writes that the proposal did not end the political and legal battles in a tug of war over birth control that has left Mr. Obama struggling to balance women’s rights, health care and religious freedom.

• Binyamin Appelbaum looks at the deliberations among the monetary policy makers at the Federal Reserve over how to manage the economy in the face of stagnant employment and dropping inflation.

• Jennifer Steinhauer points out how the testy Senate hearings on the nomination of Chuck Hagel, a former Republican senator, to be secretary of defense revealed to a striking degree the erosion of decorum in the upper chamber. The phenomenon has set veterans from both parties on edge. And while Democrats expect to confirm Mr. Hagel, the discord is only expected to grow as Republicans face competitive primaries and add to their ranks more new and deeply conservative members who have less regard for the old rules of comity and respect for elders.

• Energy Secretary Steven Chu’s decision to leave the Obama administration soon will add to a slate of vacancies at departments dealing with energy and the environment. Matthew L. Wald reviews Dr. Chu’s science-focused tenure and runs through a shortlist of ! possible successors topped by former Gov. Christine O. Gregoire of Washington State.

• Former Senator Scott P. Brown’s decision to stay out of the June 25 special election for the Senate seat John Kerry vacated to become secretary of state leaves Massachusetts Republicans without a prize horse in the race. But Katharine Q. Seelye writes that Mr. Brown is privately flirting with a run for governor in 2014 and has the campaign money to back himself up. While Republicans scout a viable Senate candidate, two Democratic congressmen, Edward J. Markey and Stephen F. Lynch, are headed for a primary on April 30.

• A century and a half after Charles Darwin published “The Origin of Species,” evolution continues to be politically divisive among Christians. Using the opposing vies of Representative Rush D. Holt, Democrat of New Jersey, and Paul Broun, Republican of Georgia, Mark Oppenheimer looks at the role Darwin and his theories have played in Christian politics.

The Weekly Address

• President Obama used his weekly address to call for a balanced approach to the federal budget. Citing a recent falloff in economic growth attributed to inaction in Washington, Mr. Obama called for investments in education and infrastructure and an overhaul of entitlement programs like Medicare as part of a deal to reduce the federal deficit. He said that “2013 can be a year of solid growth, more jobs, and higher wages. But that will only happen if we put a stop to self-inflicted wounds in Washington.”

Happenings in Washington

• Among the guests on the Sunday television talk shows are Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committ! ee, and L! eon E. Panetta, the departing secretary of defense. The topics include gun control, immigration, the war in Afghanistan and Super Bowl XLVII.

The Early Word: Push and Tug

In Today’s Times

• President Obama proposed a compromise on contraceptive coverage on Friday that would allow women employed by religious organizations that do not want to provide birth control coverage to obtain it separately from their insurers. But Robert Pear writes that the proposal did not end the political and legal battles in a tug of war over birth control that has left Mr. Obama struggling to balance women’s rights, health care and religious freedom.

• Binyamin Appelbaum looks at the deliberations among the monetary policy makers at the Federal Reserve over how to manage the economy in the face of stagnant employment and dropping inflation.

• Jennifer Steinhauer points out how the testy Senate hearings on the nomination of Chuck Hagel, a former Republican senator, to be secretary of defense revealed to a striking degree the erosion of decorum in the upper chamber. The phenomenon has set veterans from both parties on edge. And while Democrats expect to confirm Mr. Hagel, the discord is only expected to grow as Republicans face competitive primaries and add to their ranks more new and deeply conservative members who have less regard for the old rules of comity and respect for elders.

• Energy Secretary Steven Chu’s decision to leave the Obama administration soon will add to a slate of vacancies at departments dealing with energy and the environment. Matthew L. Wald reviews Dr. Chu’s science-focused tenure and runs through a shortlist of ! possible successors topped by former Gov. Christine O. Gregoire of Washington State.

• Former Senator Scott P. Brown’s decision to stay out of the June 25 special election for the Senate seat John Kerry vacated to become secretary of state leaves Massachusetts Republicans without a prize horse in the race. But Katharine Q. Seelye writes that Mr. Brown is privately flirting with a run for governor in 2014 and has the campaign money to back himself up. While Republicans scout a viable Senate candidate, two Democratic congressmen, Edward J. Markey and Stephen F. Lynch, are headed for a primary on April 30.

• A century and a half after Charles Darwin published “The Origin of Species,” evolution continues to be politically divisive among Christians. Using the opposing vies of Representative Rush D. Holt, Democrat of New Jersey, and Paul Broun, Republican of Georgia, Mark Oppenheimer looks at the role Darwin and his theories have played in Christian politics.

The Weekly Address

• President Obama used his weekly address to call for a balanced approach to the federal budget. Citing a recent falloff in economic growth attributed to inaction in Washington, Mr. Obama called for investments in education and infrastructure and an overhaul of entitlement programs like Medicare as part of a deal to reduce the federal deficit. He said that “2013 can be a year of solid growth, more jobs, and higher wages. But that will only happen if we put a stop to self-inflicted wounds in Washington.”

Happenings in Washington

• Among the guests on the Sunday television talk shows are Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committ! ee, and L! eon E. Panetta, the departing secretary of defense. The topics include gun control, immigration, the war in Afghanistan and Super Bowl XLVII.